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HISTORICAL 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE GERUND 

IN 

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



INAUGUKAL - DISSEKTATION 

ZUR ERLANGUNG 
DER PHILOSOPHISCHEN DOCTORWURDE 

AN DEB 

UNIVERSITAT ZU LEIPZIG 

VON 

F. G. A. RUSTEBERG. 

$1 



<@fim, 



GOTTINGEN 1874. 

DRUCK DER DIETERICHSCHEN UNIV. - BUCHDRUCKEREI. 
W. FB. KAESTNEB 



f 






JS TEJ3J3 

Historical Development of the Gerund in the 
English language. 

The English language of to-day has in the so-called Ge- 
rund a form by the help of which the Englishman is able 
to express his thoughts with much brevity and precision, giv- 
ing his speech a great deal of vivacity and energy. One 
page's reading of Macaulay or Irving will show, how much 
the best writers are aware of the Gerund's expressiveness. 
This convenient form is indeed an advantage of the English 
over the German language which, if the infinitive is not 
found fit to replace the form in „ing", is often obliged 
to translate such a short phrase by a long secondary sentence. 
The French language possesses also a Gerund, but its range 
of use is more confined than that of the English. Although 
the French language has more freedom in applying the in- 
finitive than the German, an English Gerund is very often 
to be translated by a French secondary sentence. It is not 
without good reason, that the French Gerund is mentioned 
here, this form having probably exerted much influence on 
the modern use of the Gerund in the English language. 

To judge the extension the Gerund has got by degrees, 
it is but natural to find out the realm of the like- called 
form in the original stage of the English language , viz. , in 
Anglo-Saxon. In comparing the Anglo -Saxon Gerund with 
the English, nothing is more evident than the fact, that 
both forms have no connection whatever with each other. 
The Anglo - Saxon Gerund is really an inflected Infinitive, 
preceded in the dative case by the preposition „to u . As the 
genitive is wanting, and nominative and accusative are alike, 
the Anglo-Saxon Infinitive is declined as follows: 

Nom. writan. 

Gen. — 

Dat. to writanne. 

Ace. writan. 
Only this Dative is usually called Gerund, and the form of 

1* 



4 

the two other cases retains the nomination of Infinitive. 

To exhibit the difference between the Anglo-Saxon and 
the English Gerund we give some quotations, found in pe- 
rusing Beovulf. (Beov., ed. by M. Heyne). 

1 raed eahtedon 

hvat svid-ferhdum selest vaere 
vid faer-gryrum to gefremmanne. 

Beov., v. 172-174. 
(They deliberated what would be the best for the 
brave-hearted to do against the terror of surprise). 

2 Sorh is me to secganne. 

Beov. v. 473. 
(It gives me pain to say.) 

3 No f)at yde byd 

to befleonne. 

Ibid. v. 1004. 
(That is not easy to avoid.) 

4 Vundor is to secganne, 

hu mihtig god manna cynne. . . . 

Ibid. v/l725. 
(Wonder is to he said, how powerful God 

to mankind ) 

5. seled him on edle eordan vynne 
to healdanne hleo-burh vera. 

Ibid. 1731 and 1732. 
(God gives him noble earthly property, to maintain the 
royal castle of the warriors) 

6 nas him feor [>anon 

to gesecanne sinces bryttan. 

Ibid. 1922 and 23. 
(It was for him not far to come from there to the 
giver of treasures.) 

7 Ne bid svylc cvenlic {>eav idese to efnanne. 

Ibid. 1941. and 42. 
(This is not a ladylike custom for this lady to fol- 
low it.) 

8 nas fat yde ceap, 

to gegangenne gumena aenigum. 

Ibid. 2416 and 17. 



(That was not an easy affair to be brought to an end 
by some of the men.) 
9. Sva, bid geomorlic gomelum ceorle to gebidanne. 
Ibid. 2445 and 46. 
(This is painful for the old man to enliven.) 

10 odres ne gymed 

to gebidanne burgum on innan 
yrfe-veardes, — 

Ibid. 2452-54. 
(He does not take trouble about seeing (to see) another 
heir withiu his castle.) 
Most quotations show the inclination of the Gerund to 
follow the verb „to be", either really expressed, or under- 
stood. In the tenth example the Gerund is preceded by the 
present tense af the intransitive verb , ; gyman" = to take 
care. None of these ten Anglo-Saxon Gerunds would allow 
to be translated by the Dative of the modern Gerund, proof 
enough of the diverging meaning and character of both forms. 
Notwithstanding this obvious heterogeneousness it is tried, 
especially by English grammarians, to prove the modern 
Gerund to be a derivative from the ancient Gerund, that is 
to say, not from the Dative, but from the Accusative and 
Nominative of the ancient Gerund. In proving this they 
proceed as follows: When the Anglo-Saxon was changed 
into Semi- Saxon and Old -English, the infinitive became 
„writen" instead of „writan u , writen was changed into „writin", 
and finally into „writing u , this last change doubtless facilitated by 
the existence of a class of abstract nouns in „ung u and „ing u . 
But this etymology will hardly stand the test. Before 
the change from the termination ,,an" into „en" took place, 
the modern Gerund was already cognoscible in the Anglo- 
Saxon verbal substantive in „ung u . It would, moreover, be 
difficult to prove the existence of infinitives, ending in „in", 
to such an extension, as to exert an influence over the for- 
mation of a new form. It is from this etymology, that 
English grammarians have so vague an idea about what a 
Gerund is. Firstly, they call a Gerund what we understand 
by it, and thiuk it to be a derivative from the Nom. and 
Ace. of the Anglo-Saxon Infinitive. Secondly, they call a 



6 

Gerund an Infinitive after intransitive and passive verbs, 
being according to their opinion the derivative from the An- 
glo-Saxon inflected Dative. 
For instance : 

1. And fools who came to scoff remained 
to pray. (Goldsmith.) 

2. No children run to lisp their sire's return, 

Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. (Gray.) 

3. A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, 

And monarchs to behold the swelling scene. (Shakesp.) 

4. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. (Shakesp.) — 
Much more likely is the derivation of the preposition of 

the infinitive ,,to u from the dative of the Anglo-Saxon Ge- 
rund. The Anglo - Saxon Infinitive was used without „to'S 
only the dative case was preceded by it, and besides this in. 
fleeted by the termination „ne". When in later times the 
inflectional endings were lost, Nom., Dat., and Accus. of the 
Infinitive had the same termination, and this similarity in 
form caused the preposition „to u to be applied to all cases 
of the Infinitive. Thus the English Infinitive improperly re- 
ceived the preposition „to". 

Not being satisfied by the above mentioned way of ety- 
mologizing, we trace back to former centuries the use of 
the Gerund. Compared with the frequent use of to-day, its 
use iu the days of the middle ages was much less common, 
and tracing farther back, we find that the Gerund was not 
used with the same variety of meanings. In the early period 
of Old-English, that is to say in the 13th century, it is neither 
connected with an object nor with an adverb. At last we find 
it employed in the sense of the Anglo-Saxon verbal noun, ending 
in ,,ung". From this consideration we infer that the English 
Gerund is derived from the Anglo-Saxon verbal noun. 

The Gerund has sometimes been regarded as a deriva- 
tive from the present participle. It may be given here sim- 
ply as a notice, what is to be proved afterwards : The origin 
of the Gerund has nothing to do with the latter form, although 
the modern language offers cases, where the discrimination 
between Gerund and present Participle is hard exough. We 
mean the Gerund after verbs of ending and of beginning. 



1. He again seated himself and began weaving them into 
one of those garlands. (Bulw. Rienzi I, 1.) 

2. The old hag kept murmuring to herself a Saxon 
rhyme. (Scott.) 

3. The first English lottery began drawing on the 11th 
of January 1569; it continued incessantly drawing, 
day and night, till the sixth of May following. 

The Anglo-Saxon form in ,,ung" reminds us of the mo- 
dern German like sounding substantive termination in „ung", 
by which, as in Anglo-Saxon, substantives are formed from 
a verbal root, expressing the idea of their root-verb. Exactly 
the same does the Gerund of to-day. Both are substanti- 
vated verbs, in Anglo-Saxon more assuming the nature of 
a substantive, in modern English more retaining the verbal 
quality. 

In early Anglo-Saxon the verbal substantives in „ung" 
were not very frequent. In the song of Beovulf, for instance, 
an other word of this sort than „veordung" (from the verb 
veordian), will scarcely be found. 

1. Hvilum hie geheton at harg-trafum 
vig - veordunga vordum baedon. 

Beov. v. 175—176. 

2. Ful oft ic for lassan lean teohhode 
hord-veordunge hnaran rince. 

lb. 952—53. 

But as it was easy and convenient from the character of this 
substantive to form new substantives, the later Anglo-Saxon 
writings abound in such substantives, treated as other substantives, 
with regard both to inflection and connection with prepositions. 

In order to show the development of the Gerund, the 
best way, in our opinion, is to look out for examples in the 
oldest writers, and to follow the change of the language, re- 
specting the mentioned form from their time to the present. 

At first we give examples from the Anglo-Saxon trans- 
lations of King Alfred. 

I. Substantives in „ung" are used in the accusative case. 
1. To-eacan J)aes landes sceavunge (sceavian *). 

1) The word mentioned in brackets is the root- verb of the verbal 
substantive. 



8 

King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version of Boethius, ed. 
by J. S. Cardale. 

2. Aelfred hatef) gretung Vnlfsige (gretan). Alfred's 
Pastorale. 

3. . . . ic maeg forstanden [)ine acsunge (acsian). 

Alfred's Boeth., ed. by Cardale. 

II. Substantives in „ung" in connection with prepositions. 
1. hu. ^eorne hi vaeron aegther ge ymbe lara ?e ymbe 
leornun^a (leornian). 

Alfr. Boeth. 

2 nu hit nauht elles nat butan ^uornun^a 

(^norian). 

Ibid. 

3. butan godes geseahte and frnfun^e (fmfian). 

Ibid. 

4. and hy {) e villaf) on inornun^a ^ebrinjan (murnan). 

Ibid. 

5. butan to tacnunge sorges (tacian). 

Ibid. 

6. 7fi vij> heora {>reaun?a ge vif> olecun^a (freatian). 

Ibid. 

III. A substantive in „ung" in the genitive case. 

1. Hii mihtest {>u beon on midre f>irre hvearfun^a. 
(hveorfan). 

Examining writings of a later period, of the first half 
of the 13th century, the Ancren Riwle, ed. by Morton, the 
Sermons, ed. by Wright in the Rel. Ant., the verbal substan- 
tive is found to be employed quite in the same way, and 
in most cases in the same form. 

I. The verbal substantive in the nominative case. 

1 hu suneguuge bigon. 

The Ancr. R., p. 52. 

2. „Gode u , cwed he, „beo bod auh hore wunnunge 
naued not ^et. 

Ibid. p. 74. 

3. f>e heorte wardeins beod f>e vif wittes, sihde and 
herunge, smecchunge and smellunge, and eueriches 
limes uelunge. 

Ibid. 48. 



To hear, to smell, to feel are verbs of the modern lan- 
guage, smecchunge reminds of the German verb „schniecken". 
Translated into modern English , the phrase would contain 
the Gerunds: Seeing, hearing, smelliug, feeling, a proof that 
this Gerund is a derivative from the verbal substantive in 
„ung". 

4. Attri speche is cresie and f)wertouer leasunge, bac- 
bitunge and fikelunge. 

Ibid. p. 82. 

5. f)at is hordom and midliggunge J>e men drigen 
bitwenen hem. 

Rel. Ant. ed. by Wright p. 131. 

II. In the accusative case. 

1. Vor heo hunted efter pris, and kecched lastunge. 

Ancr. R. p. 66. 

2. And habbed wlatung of J>e mude. 

lb. p. 82. 

III. In connection with prepositions. 

1. . . . mid hore blodshedunge irudded andireaded 
ase f>e martirs weren. 

Ibid. p. 50. 
Bloodshedding is a verbal substantive, a little oldfashioned 
now, but sometimes still used. 

3. . . . ne ne shullen habben, fmrh f)e grace of 
Gode, of todinde ancres, ne of tollinde lokunges. 

Ibid. p. 50. 

3. We speken of and ter after oLherrunge. 

Ibid. p. 64. 

4. And heo opened hire mud mid much madelunge. 

Ibid. p. 80. 

5. And onsweried mid lut wordes to his askunge. 

Ibid. p. 70. 

6 |>et in silence and in hope schal beon 

ure strencde in Godes seruise a^ein J)es deofles turnes 
and his fondunges. 

Ibid. p. 78. 
The termination in „ung" begins to change. With the 
same writer , or with contemporary writers , we find „ung" 
and „mg", even the same word with „ung" and „ing". 



10 

1. Al Holi Writ is ful af wamingge of eie. 

Ancr. R. p. 62. 

2. Hwat vuel beo icuinen of totinge. 

Ibid. p. 52. 

3. Ved f)ine eien mid totunge. 

Ibid. p. 100. 

4. Vrom mulne and from cheping , from smide and 
from ancre huse me tidiuge bringed. (ceapiau.) 

Ibid. p. 88. 

5. {>enc ancre f>ene hwat tu f)ouhtes and souhtes po 
fm uorsoke f>eue world i {line biclusinge (beclysian). 

6. Hie was fet of weste wunienge. (vunian). 

Rel. Ant. p. 128. 
The text of the Ancren Riwle gives wunnunge: 
„ . . . . auh hore wunnunge naued not set". 
p. 74. 

7. [>e men tilien in chirche ou salmes, and songes and 
on redinges. 

Rel. Ant. p. 129. 

8. And |>at is after clepenge, and ascinge and uncuune 
warienge etc. — (varian). 

Ibid. 131. 

The Ancr. R. has askunge, as we have seen before. 

9 ne mid cursinge. 

Ibid. p. 131. 

It is obvious, that about this time, in the beginning of 
the 13th century, a revolution took place in the language. 
The Anglo-Saxon tongue which had gradually undergone so 
great a change was now completely metamorphosed into 
another language, which had grown up from it like the 
flower from the seed. — The mute endings of the words are 
dropped or weakened still more, the grammatical gender in 
which a terrible confusion had ruled since the Norman in- 
vasion, was now, as a rule, determined by sex alone, confin- 
ing the neuter to objects without sex. The various inflec- 
tion was simplified, the arrangement of the parts of speech 
in the phrases became more couform to the meaning which 
was to be expressed, an improvement caused in a great mea- 
sure by the French lauguage whose syntax and vocabulary 



11 

exerted a certain influence over the subdued peoples tongue 
since the invasion , but whose character and genius is espe- 
cially cognoscible in the English language since the begin- 
ning of the 13th century, when both languages began to 
amalgamize. It is that state af the English language which 
we are accustomed to call the origin of Old-English. 

It is during this revolution that the verbal substantive 
changed its termination from „ung" into „ing". What has 
been the cause for accepting this latter ending? The ter- 
mination „ing u was not at all a new one. We meet with 
substantives ending in „ing" in the earliest periods of Anglo- 
Saxon. The Anglo-Saxon suffix „ing", having firstly the 
meaning af „the son of" is used to form Patronymics. From 
the idea of infant this suffix has accepted the meaning of 
„little", employed now to form diminutives. Such Patronymcs 
are found in the song of Beovulf: Sverting, Scylding, Scylfing 
etc. Moreover „ing" denotes, a state of being. Cf. Beovulf 
vers 2002: Gemeeting. vers 2618: gadeling, vers 2343: ade- 
ling. The remark, if perhaps the Anglo-Saxon pronunciation 
of the ending „ung" , or »the influence of the French pro- 
nunciation of this syllable have led to the orthography „ing u , 
may be worth mentioning. 

In perusing the Ormulum, the La^amon, the Owl and 
the Nightingale, the Credo in Deum, poems of the 13th cen- 
tury, the verbal substantive is always found ending in „ing". 
The verbal substantive used 

I. As subject: 

1. {)in egging iss off flaeshess lusst 
Annd nohht off sawles fode. 

Orm. 11675 and 76. 

2. Nu thu migt, hule, sitte and clinge; 
Her among is no chateringe. 

The Owl and the N. 743 and 44. 
3* Wone thi lesing both unwroze (Lesing = Angl.-Sox. 
leasuug). Ibid. 846. 

II. As a predicate. 

1. Thu golst and wones, and ich singe, 
Thi stevene is wop, and min skentinge. 

Owl and Night. 983 and 84. 



12 

III. As object. 

1. Forr uss birrf) sone Jmnnkenn himm, 
Hiss wissing annd hiss lare. 

Orm. 11829 and 30. 
Wissing = Angl.- S. visung or vissuug (visian). 

2. For he wolde wid {)au kinge holdeii runinge. 

La?am. 14069 and 70. 
The Anglo-Saxon substantive is run, — but the commou 
way of forming verbal substantives being by the termination 
ing, runinge was formed. 

3. Hengest com to J)an kinge 
and bad him gistninge. 

La^. 14261 and 62. 

4. Up-risinge of alle men 
And eche lif J leve. 

Credo in Deum 21 and 22. 

5. Sipmen here steringe forgeten 
For hire (the Siren's) stefninge. 

A Bestiary, ed. by Wright and Halliwell 574 and 75 

IV. Connected with a verb by a preposition. 

1. Birrf) stannden inn till f)eowwtenn Crist 
Wif)f) fasstinng annd wif)f> beness. 

Orm. 11435 and 36. 

2. Annd waere j>a bikahht and lahht 
fmrrh fandinng off the deofell. 

Ibid. 11621 and 22. 

3. Ace ure Laferrd Crist ne wass 
fmrrh nan fandinge wundedd. 

Ibid. 11804 and 5. 

4. gif tveie men goth to wraslinge. 

The Owl and th. Night. 793. 

5. For al mi song is of longinge 
And i-meind sum del mid woninge. 

Ibid. v. 867—68. 

6. He bi-tagte Josep his ring 
And his bege of gold for wurding. 
Genesis and Exod; ed. Morris, v. 1250. 



13 

It might be the place here to speak about an etymo- 
logy , mentioned above (pag. 6) as a false one. Generally 
in grammars of the English language the Gerund of to-day 
is asserted to be a derivative from the Present Participle. 
From this asertion, if true, we must infer that the formation 
of the latter form preceded that of the former. But some 
pages' reading in writings from the 13th and 14th century 
will show, that at all events it can be proved, that about 
this time the present participle is always employed with the 
termination „inde" , or ,,ende" , or „and" : 

Examples : „mid spere of wundinde word 1 ' (Aner. Riwle, 
ed. Morton, p. 58). — „mid schekinde word ^iued speres 
wunden" (Ibid. p. 58.) — „urom J>e kakelinde ancren". (Ibid, 
p. 66.) „o{)er a valsinde lune". (Ibid. p. 72.) „mid made- 
linde mude ne mid ^eoniinde tuteles" (Ibid. p. 80). — „of 
totinde ancres, ne of tollinde lokunges" (Ibid. p. 76). 

In the Proclamation of Henry III. (Anno 1258) the ver- 
bal substantives end in ing, the present participles in inde :" .... 

send i^retin^e to alle his halde and ileawede" — in 

()e two and fowerti5f)e ajeare of ure crunin^e etc." — 

Present Part. : . . . beo stedefaest and ilestinde" — „beo 
stedefaest and listinde u — 

, The Sermons (from the beginning of the 13th century), 
ed. by Wright in his Reliquiae Antiquae. 

Verbal substantives: „Hie was fet of weste wunienge" 
(p. 128.) „On songes, and on redinges" (p. 129.) „and wrade, 
and onde, and hatinge" (p. 130.) „ne mid cursinge^" (p. 131.) 
,,that is after clepenge , and askinge, and uncunne; and 
warienge" (p. 131.) — Even an old form in „ung" : „and 
midliggunge f>e men drigen bitwenen hem" (Ibid.). 

Participles. ,,f)an {>e sa-farinde men sed {>e sa-sterre" 
(p. 128.) — „J)us quedende : Quorum deus etc." (p. 129.) 
Ban Michel's Ayenbite of Inivyt, (written in the 14th cent.) 
ed. by Morris 1866. 

Verbal substantives: huanne he him uorzuerj) be (by) 
longe fenchinge" (p. 6.) {>et habbe{) f>e lokingge ous to 
teche" (p. 8.) — ,,as byej) {>e ouerlinges of holy cherche" 
(Ibid.) — ,,{)is heste uorbyet {)et non ne ssel slage o{)ren, 
uor awrekinge" (Ibid.) — „of)er be kueade takinges" (p. 9.) etc. 



14 

Participles: „to deme [>e dyade and £e libbinde" (p. 13.) — 
„and alle J>o f)et bye}) to ham helpinde" (p. 30.) — „in a 
prison uoul and stinkinde" (32.) — „lenynde {>et lenef) 
zeluer nor o{>ren" (p. 34.) — ,.f)et he dede rine uer ber- 
ninde and bernston stinkinde oJ)e f)e city of' 1 (p. 49.) — 
„and so onconnynde" (p. 59.) — „vor .fer bye{> leazinges 
helpinde, and leazinges likynde, and leazinges deriynde, and 
in echen is zenne (p. 62 and 63.) 

There are both, the verbal substantive and the present 
participle in this last quotation. 

Richard Bolle de Hampole who lived about 1340, a copy 
af whose writings we have from 1440, uses the present par- 
ticiple with the termination „and u : 

Oyle it es takyne for a lastande saluacyone" — (Rich. 

Rolle, ed. by Perry.) — „but sownnande the name of 

Jhesu u (Ibid.) — „and my herte meltes in lufe ^arenande 

Jhesu (Ibid.) — „ffor owthire {)ay ere in trauale, prayand 

or thynkande , or redande , or othere gude doande , or 

withtakand ydill mene „etc. — (Ibid.) 

The fruit of this little excursion through the mentioned 

writings is the proof that in fact the present participle, by 

the influence of the verbal substantive in „ing", accepted also 

the ending „ing u , so that in Maundeville's manuscript from 

the end of the 14th century the present participle is found 

to end in „ing u or „yng". — We found the very reverse of 

what is generally asserted. 

Having shown the frailty of this etymology it would be 
important for our investigation to make out the time, when 
the ending „inde u or „ende" etc. was changed into „ing". — 
The Ancren Riwle, written as we mentioned before, in the 
time from 1200 — 1250 shows „inde". Dan Michel's Ayen- 
bite of Inwyt, of which treatises the British Museum pos- 
sesses the author's manuscript from 1340, has the same ter- 
mination. Richard Rolle de Hampole, the author of , ; Pricke 
of Conscience", who flourished about the same time wrote 
also English prose treatises, of which we have only Robert 
Thornton's copy from the year 1440. This copy has „and". — 
The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville , written 
about 1350, has the participle termination „yng". — A Ser- 



15 

mon against Miracle-Play and the writings of Wicleffe (1375 — 
1400) have „ing". — The Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester 
who wrote about 1300, and those Lives of Saints which are 
supposed to be written by him show the verbal substantive 
and the present participle so rarely used, as if the language 
had lost the signification of these two forms and did not 
know how to use them. — From these remarks results that 
the change of the Present Participle took place in the period 
from 1375 — 1425. It is however to be mentioned that the 
northern dialect accepted the termination „ing u , and „yng" 
much later. 



As to the verbal substantive, an other change took place. 
This form is for the first time found connected with adverbs 
or objects, losing by accepting these parts of speech its strict 
substantive character and assuming the qualities of the Gerund 
of to-day. It is not difficult to detect the cause the influence 
of which gave the verbal substantive a new shape. But first 
we will give a little collection of examples to show the new 
acquisition the language made. 

1 and weren ze{)f)e feginningge to gidere 

in {>e byleaue of Jesu Crist. 

Dan Michel's Ayenb. p. 14. 

2. Auarice is disordene loue, zuo disordene him ssewef> 
in f)ri maneres generalliche , ine wynninge boldeliche, 
ine ofhealdinge streiiliche, ine spendinge scarsliche^, 
(Ibid. p. 34.) 

We have three adverbs in this phrase : boldeliche, streit- 
liche and scarsliche , the ending of which reminds of the 
Anglo -Saxon adverbial termination „l!ce". 

3. For thei seyn, that no man schalle come before no 
prynce , but that he be bettre and schalle be more 
gladdere in departynge from his presence thanne he 
was at the comyuge before him. 

Maundeville, Ed. Halliw. p. 40. 

4 and duelled in the desertes in purchasynge 

his sustynance. 

Ibid. p. 47. 



16 

5. And in comynge doun fro the mount of Olyvete. 

Ibid. p. 97. 

6. There begynnethe the lond of promyssioun and 
durethe unto Bersabee in lengthe in goynge toward 
the northe into the southe. 

Ibid. p. 117. 

7. And in a^en comynge fro that castette, a 30 myle, 
is the city of Dan. 

Ibid. p. 117. 

8 and seeynge ferthermore that al his 

worldly beyng here. — 

A treatise of miraclis pleyinge, ed. by 

Halliwell, p. 45. 

9 and so it (miraclis pleyinge) may not 

^iven occacioum of turnynge men to the bileve but of 
pervertyng. 

Ibid. p. 47. 

10. And to the last reson we seyn, that peinture gif 
it be verry withoute mengyng of lesyngis and not to 
curious to myche fedynge mennus ivittis. 

Ibid. p. 50. 

11. There shall be beetynge togidre of teth. 

Wycliffe, Gospel of Matth. 

12. And the fallyng doun therof was grete. 

Ibid. 

13. They say that we synne dedly in shavyuge our 
berdes. 

Maundeville. p. 19. 

14. Confession and knowlichynge 
In cravinge thi mercy 

Shulde amenden us. 

Piers Ploughman, p. 299. 

15. He schal mervelously don to us that is in his power, 
bothe in delyveryng us fro alle perilis and in syvyng 
us graciously al that us nedith. 

A Sermon against Miracle-plays p. 44. 
1G. I slowh Sampson in schakyng the piler. 
Chaucer, Cant. Tales. 2468. 
Not before the close of the 13th and the beginning of 



17 

the 14th century do we find the verbal substantive to have 
the same character as the modern Gerund. Till then the 
substantive in „ung u or ,,ing" was, as we have seen by the 
examples quoted above , used exactly in the same way a 
other substantives, that is to say as subject, object, attribu- 
tively, and adverbially. With the mentioned term, the verbal 
substantive, altering its sense, gets a wider sphere. By the 
admission of adverbs and objects it becomes able of 
replacing in a short way long and inconvenieut secondary 
sentences , giving in doing so the English language one 
of the principal features which it possesses: its expres- 
sive brevity. 

In examining the last given examples we find thirteen 
times the Gerund preceded by the preposition „in". It is 
easy tho prove, by a more extensive collection of examples, 
the predilection of the Gerund for this preposition , which, 
as it were , at first occupied the place before a Gerund, fol- 
lowed by an adverb or object, in order to be imitated by 
other prepositions. Until the present state of the language, 
this predilection may be traced. What is the reason for it? — 
In short , the influence of the French language. The 
Norman conquest , as it is known , took place 1066. For 
nearly two centuries both languages flowed side by side, 
without exerting any important influence upon each other, 
separated by the national hatred. At last an amalgamation 
took place, the English vocabulary was enriched by French 
words, which underwent a change, caused by the German 
grammar , and the French syntax came in many cases off 
conqueror over the original construction. French forms in- 
fluenced also German inflection. 

The Gerund of the French language, in most cases con- 
nected with an adverb, or an object, caused the English 
verbal substantive to accept the same quality, changing the 
French ,,en u into the English „in u . Having thus got a 
more verbal character, the English Gerund was allowed to 
admit of other prepositions. 

As soon as the Gerund was allowed to be followed by 
adverbs and objects it had reached that point of develop- 
ment it maintains still to-day. We have, therefore, come 



18 

to the last part of our task: to examine how the Gerund 
is used in the modern English language. 



One may discriminate betenwe Gerund and Verbal Sub- 
stantive but only in this way, that we state the Gerunds as 
that class of verbal substantives which really take adverbs 
and objects. But necessary this discrimination is not, and 
many grammarians call all verbal substantives Gerunds, both, 
such as replace substantives and such as have an obvious 
verbal meaning. 

If I say : That sleep and feeding may prorogue his 
honour (Shakesp., Ant. and Cleop.), feeding, after the men- 
tioned division would be called a verbal substantive. Or: 
His purchasing might not be in suspect. (Chaucer), — the 
form in ing would likewise be called a verbal substantive. 
The same would be the case in the example: „I am sorry 
to give breathing to my purpose". Translated into Anglo- 
Saxon a substantive in „ung" would take the place of breath- 
ing. „Well wist he by the drought and of his rain The 
yielding of his seed and of his grain". (Chaucer). A-gildung 
would be the Anglo-Saxon translation of yielding. ,,It was 
on his quitting Oxford". — (Macaulay). Quitting, having an 
object would, after this division , be called a Gerund. 

As those verbal substantives which simply replace other 
substantives do not offer other objects to a grammatical exa- 
mination than common substantives do, we shall leave them 
out, making only those verbal substantives objects of our 
inquiry which replace a whole sentence by accepting an 
object or adverb. 

In saying that the Gerund replaces sentences it is under- 
stood , that these sentences cannot be of another kind than 
secondary sentences. We will examine the use of the Gerund 
by an inquiry into the different sorts of secondary sentences. 
These are : 

I. Substantive sentences, 

II. Adverbial sentences. 
III. Attributive sentences. 



19 

The Gerund seplacing 

I. Substantive sentences. 

A. The Gerund replacing a sujective sentence. 

1. My being in Egypt, Caesar, 
What was't to you? 

No more than my residing here at Rome 
Might be to you in Egypt. 

Shakesp., Anton, and Cleop. 

2. There is no getting rid of him. 

Sheridan, Trip to Scarb. 1, 1. 

3. Giving alms takes the place of workhouse system. 

Dickens. 

4. Your being Sir Anthony's son, Captain, would itself 

be a sufficient accommodation. 

Sherid., The Rivals, HI, 3. 

B. The Gerund used predicatively. 

1. It would be throwing away words to prove what 
all must admit , the general taste and prosperity 
of nations — etc. 

Scott, Minstrel I, 5. 

C. The Gerund used objectively. 

1. I carefully avoided seeing Schiller , Herder or the 
Duchess Amalia in the coffin. 

Lewes, G. I, 13, 

2. I recollect having heard this subject discussed at 

the tea table. Byron. 

3. I am sorry , Mylord , that business . prevented my 

sooner attending to your lordship's kind summons. 
Marryat. 

4. To prevent the ladies' leaving us, I ordered the 

table to be moved. 

Goldsmith. 
In example 3 and 4 is shown, that if the subject of that 
sentence the Gerund belongs to, is different from that of 
the Gerund , the latter is expressed by a personal pronoun 
(my sooner attending), or by an Anglo-Saxon genitive (the 
ladies' leaving us). — In German the Gerunds of these 4 
examples would be translated by an Infinitive. Sometimes 
also the English uses the Infinitive instead of the Gerund. 



20 

It would be the same to say: I forgot to tell you etc. 
or : I forgot telling you. — Whether the principal sentence, 
is to be followed by the Gerund or by the infinitive, depends 
upon the verb of the principal sentence. Verbs of prevent- 
ing, forbearing, and intending require the Gerund at all 
events, while verbs expressing the different states of an action, 
as well as verbs of purposing and regretting admit of both 
constructions but prefer also the Gerund. Verbs of observ- 
ing, suffering, causing, commanding , thinking, and assert- 
ing require the Accusative with the Infinitive. 
The Gerund replacing 

II. Adverbial sentences. 
A. Temporal sentences. 

Bemarfo A Gerund preceded by the preposition „in" 
expresses a certain duration , a Gerund preceded by 
„on u expresses that the action of the principal sentence 
follows directly. 

1. Before following you , I must know your name and 

purpose. 

Scott, Rob. Roy. 

2. All is ready against their leaving the dining room. 

Taylor, A Reade, Masks, I, 2. 

3. After considering him attentively , I recognised in 

him a diligent getter-up of miscellaneous works. 
Irving, The Sketch Book. 

4. They felt as a devout catholic .... at seeing a 
prelate of the highest dignity sent to the gallows. 

Macaul., Warren Hastings. 

5. There would he anchor his aspect and die 

With looking on his life. 

Shakesp., Ant. and Cleop. 

6. I have had infinite difficulty in rendering them (these 
terms) in modern phraseologie. 

Irving, the Sketch Book. 

7. Dalph felt struck with awe on entering into the 
presence of this learned man. 

Irving, Dalph Heyliger. 

8. They were about burying his neighbour. 

Warren, Diary I, 17. — 



21 

B. The Gerund expressing cause. 

a. Real cause. 

1. Warwick is hoarse with calling thee to arms. 

Shakesp., Henry VI, 2. 

2. It was thus from hearing marriage so often recom- 
mended that my eldest son fixed his affection upon 
the daughter of . . . etc. 

Goldsmith. 

3. The blow thou hast 

Shall make thy peace for moving me to rage. 
Shakesp., Ant. and Cleop. 

b. Motive. 

1. Adrian severely censured the princes of Germany 
for suffering Luther to spread his pernicious tenets. 
Roberston. 

C. The Gerund replacing conditional sentences. 

1. He was permitted to return home on condition of 

sending his son as a pledge. 

Irving, The Sketch Book.. 

2. We do not commit murder in healing wounds. 

Shakesp., Ant. and Cleop. 

3. Satan now is wiser than of yore 

And tempts by making rich, not making poor. 
Pope. 

D. The Gerund replacing concessive sentences. 

1. In spite of having been altered and simplified at 

various periods, (it) has still a look of solemn re- 
ligious pomp. 

Irving, the Sketch Book. 

E. The Gerund replacing final sentences. 

1 a system which was ? perhaps , skilfully con- 
trived for the purpose of facilitating and concealing 
a great revolution. 

Macaul., Warren Hast. 

2. A covetous fellow , like a jackdaw , steals what he 

was never made to enjoy, for the sake of hiding it. 
Gay, Begg. Op. 2, 1. 

3. He began studying this language with the intention 
of cultivating it as much as possible. 



22 

The sentences under B, 0, D, and E belong to that 
category, by which is expressed Causality. To this class 
belongs a fifth sort: the consecutive ssntences which cannot 
be replaced by a Gerund. 

F. the Gerund expresses modality. 

As we did not succeed is discovering an example with 
one of the English standard writers, we venture to give 
two examples of our own, to exhibit these sort of clauses. 

1. Like my drinking water is his drinking wine. 

2. Beyond committing a few useful errors , there is no 

blot on his character. 
The Gerund replacing 

III. Attribntive sentences. 

1. This the blest art of turning all to gold. 

Young, N. Th. 2, 15. 

2. I have not the pleasure of knowing the gentleman 
who is your tutor. 

Chattam, Lett. 3. 

3. What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying 
bills without money. 

Dickens, Christm. Car. 

4. This little delusion was greatly assisted by the cir- 

cumstance of its being market-day, the thorough- 
fares about the market-place being filled with carts 
and horses. 

Dickens, M. Chuzzlew. 1, 5. 

5. Thus they have taken a singular delight in ex- 

hibiting their most private foibles in a laughable 
point of view. 

Irving, the Sketch B. 



Finally we have to mention the Gerund, used objecti- 
vely I. after adjectives, II. after verbs, always connected with 
a preposition. 

I. The Gerund 
used objectively after adjectives. 
1 . The malady which made him incapable of performing 
his regal function. 

Macaulay, Hist, af Engl. 



23 

2. Nor had he the talents necessary for obtaining the 

ear of an assembly. 

Mac., Warr. Hast. 

3. And that she begged her, not to share her watch, 

as she was well used to being alone. 

Dickens, M. Chuzzlew. 1, 3. 
II. The Gerund 
after verbs to which the complement is always joined 
by a preposition. 

1. He succeeded in gaining the confidence of the he- 

reditary priests of India. 

Macaulay, Warr. Hast. 

2. It is certain that he never was charged with having 

borne a share etc. 
Ibid. — 

3. Sujah Dowlah was bent on subjugating theRohillas. 

Ibid. 

4. He was accused of having always cherished a secret 

and implacable hostility towards the whites. 
Irving, the Sketch Book. 

5. There is no species of humour in which the English 

more excel, than that which consists in caracturing 
and giving ludicrous appellations, or nicknames. 
Irving, the Sketchb. 



Vita. 

Ich bin geboren am 22. Februar 1841. Mem Geburtsort 
ist das Dorf Angersteiu iin Leinetbale in der Nacbbarscbaft 
Gottiugens. Bis zu meinem 14. Lebensjahre geuoss ich den 
Unterricht meines Yaters, der in meinem Heimathsdorfe 
Lehrer ist. Von Ostern 1855 ab besuchte ich die Realschule 
I. Ordn. in Gottingen. Michaelis 1857 sah sich mein Vater 
durch niedriges Gehalt und eine zahlreiche Familie veranlasst, 
mich von der Schule fortzunehmen. Ich hatte in dem ge- 
nannten Zeitraume die Classen von Quinta bis Secunda incl. 
durchgemacht. Jnng wie ich war, nahm ich eine Hauslehrer- 
stelle an, die ich zwei Jahr versah, um dann das Konigliche 
Schullehrer-Seminar in Alfeld zwei Jahr zu besucheu. Das 
Fortarbeiten in all denjenigen Fachern , in welchen die Got- 
tinger Realschule mir eine Anweisuug geboten, machte mir 
nach dem Yerlassen des Seminars die Annahme einer Stelle 
am Privatinstitute des Herrn Kaune in Lesum moglich, welche 
Stellung auszufullen ein fleissiges Arbeiten erforderte. Drei 
Jahr spater wurde ich Erzieher im Hause des Herrn Forster 
in Bremen, dessen Sohne den Unterricht der Handelsschule 
genossen. Als Seminarist war ich verpflichtet, eine mir au- 
derthalb Jahr spater angetragene Schullehrerstelle in Reyers- 
hausen, einem kleinen Dorfe in Gottingens Nahe, anzunehmen. 
Neben wenig Gehalt bot mir die Stelle viel Zeit, meine Lieb- 
lingsstudien , neuere Sprachen mid Geschichte, fortzusetzeu. 
Gegen Weihnacht 1867 erhielt ich eine Anstellung an der 
reformierten Schule in Gottiugen. Mein bis dahin ununter- 
brochenes Arbeiten hatte mich in den Stand gesetzt , die 
Universitat mit Erfolg benutzen zu konnen. Ich liess mich 



25 

Ostern 1868 immatricnlieren und versuchte, zwei Herren zu 
dienen : der Schule und dem Studium. Im Sommer 1871 
verliess ich Schule und Universitat, um das Englische jenseits 
des Kauals zu cultivieren. Iru Hause des Rev. Adams, der 
seiue Pensionare zur Universitat vorbereitete , fand ich als 
Lehrer eineu fur meine Zwecke sehr passenden Platz. Ein 
Jahr spater kehrte ich nach Gottiugen zuriick, bereitete mich 
aufs Examen pro facult. doc. vor und liess mir im Januar 
1873 die Themata zu nieinen Examen sarbeiten geben, die 
ich Ostern einlieferte. Ich liess mich bewegen, schon damals 
die Stelle eines Lehrers der neueren Sprachen an der hoheren 
Biirgerschule in Northeim anzunehmen. Im Laufe des Som- 
mers machte ich in Gottingen mein miindliches Examen 
pro fac. doc, dem im Marz 1874 ein Examen zur Erlangung 
des Doctorgrades an der philosophischen Facuitat der Uni- 
versitat zu Leipzig folgte. 

F. G. A. Rusteberg. 



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